An influential US committee yesterday approved new proposed legislation on postal reform,although the committee split along party lines, voting 22-17 in favour of the bill.
Republican Darrell Issa, sponsor of draft legislation HR 2748 The Postal Reform Act of 2013 andchairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, commented: “I appreciate all ofthe amendments offered to improve this legislation today. The Committee has adopted a bill withbroad input from all stakeholders that would bring USPS back to financial solvency withcost-cutting reforms and innovative new sources of revenue.”
Among the cost-cutting reforms is a provision that would move many older ‘door-slot’ deliveryunits toward curb-side delivery mailboxes and, where appropriate, neighbourhood boxes. ‘Door-slot’delivery costs USPS, on average, $353 per unit per year, while delivery to curb-side mailboxes costUSPS $224 per unit per year, a transition that would save over $4 billion annually, Issaclaimed.
Subcommittee chairman Blake Farenthold, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said: “This bill is ahuge step towards a financially sound 21st century Postal Service that meets the needs of America.It improves efficiency, right-sizes operations, and will keep the taxpayers off the hook for amassive bailout.”
Despite more than a dozen amendments being offered, no amendment was offered with the goal ofbarring the Postal Service from implementing its modified six-day delivery plan. However, seniorDemocrat member Elijah Cummings offered an amendment as a full substitute bill that included astudy on the provision.
Issa added: “While I am disappointed that my Democratic friends chose not to support the PostalReform Act despite the incorporation of many of their ideas into the introduced version legislationand the moderation of many provisions originally in the legislation, I will continue to work withthe Ranking Member and his colleagues.”
Issa continued: “However, legislation that does not include cost-cutting measures or adoptsprovisions that would force USPS to be frozen at its current size in perpetuity will only furtherharm the agency as America’s reliance on paper mail continues to fade.”
However, he acknowledged that the real negotiation would come when the House of Representativesmeets with the US Senate to agree a compromise bill that both chambers of US Congress can approve.Senator Tom Carper, chairman of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,is expected to soon introduce his own “bipartisan” postal reform proposal.
